


Backwards and In Heels

by 4horsesatetheworld



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dancing With the Stars, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Multi, i don't really understand dwts but, listen the whole luke/leia is not necessarily romantic or sexual, luke and leia are dance partners, they just have a very special relationship, this is not how the american gvnmt works buuut, we try our best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 12:15:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13411059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4horsesatetheworld/pseuds/4horsesatetheworld
Summary: Leia Organa is running for Congress. Leia Organa is trying to win hit American competition show, Dancing with the Stars. These things are not mutually exclusive.





	Backwards and In Heels

“And welcome to the stage, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker!”

As Luke and Leia take their place across the stage from each other, the TV shows their introduction footage. 

Luke onscreen says, “Hi! I’m Luke Skywalker, and it’s my first season on Dancing with the Stars.” It goes on to play something about him getting found by Ben Kenobi on a farm in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico. All in all, it gives him a sense of being young, naive, and inexperienced. Which is somewhat true. It certainly matches with what Leia’s first impression of him. However, their past week of working together has definitely changed her idea of him. He is young, only 26, like Leia. For sure, this is his first time on Dancing with the Stars, but when they practice, Leia can tell he takes dancing very seriously. There’s a hidden Machiavellian side to Luke underneath all of his smiles and floppy hair. Leia wonders, not for the first time, what Luke’s first impression of her was. Leia’s intro is actually parts of her campaign ads spliced together and a little bit of her first interview with Dancing with the Stars. The interviewer had asked, “Councilwoman Organa, do you really have time to do a reality television show and run for the House of Representatives?” Leia smiled a little too wide, the one she knew threw interviewers off, “I like to dream big.”

After their intros are over, Maz Kanata waves her arms and the music begins. Luke gives her a big smile from across the stage, as they ease into the first steps. It’s a Viennese waltz, something Leia was actually a little familiar with before competing. The story they’ve crafted for the dance is pretty compelling. Leia is the young woman at home, and Luke is her young man off at war. They’ve put a WWII vibe to it, though there’s nothing exactly tying it to the war. For the first part, they’re on separate parts of the stage, mirroring each other’s dancing, showing their connection. Then, a letter falls from the ceiling and they dance a bit with the letter before ending up back to back where Luke guides her into a dip and a turn. With letters clutched between hands, it actually kind of touching. There’s a sense that they are desperately trying to hold on to each other, and it’s only the letter that allow them to come together, see and hold each other despite the distance. Luke spins her away, and when she comes back, there’s a space. They come back together doing the steps but not actually touching. Before her final spin away, Leia makes a move out of their planned choreography to brush her lips against his lips, feather light. He spins her away and together but apart they keep dancing. The drums speed up before there is one large crack. Luke clutches his chest and falls. Leia keeps dancing; her character unaware of her lover’s demise. Another letter falls from the ceiling and Leia catches it. Her steps purposely falter before she too stumbles and falls, hand to breast. She turns one last glance to her left, and sees Luke staring right back at her from across the stage. 

The audience is quiet for a brief moment, before breaking out in thunderous applause. Luke comes to help Leia stand up, and she hugs him tightly. 

“Great job,” she whispers. He responds in kind. She does actually press a real kiss to his cheek this time. He ends blushing as they turn to face the judges. 

...

They don’t get the technical points from the judges, but the audience loves them. They are firmly top of the middle. Right under that smug bastard, Han Solo and his partner, Sabine Wren. 

...

It’s not that Leia doesn’t like Han. He just gets on her nerves and has a tendency to get her to be unprofessional in public. She’s got Poe with her from her top campaign staff, but he’d rather cheer her into a fight than hold her back from one. Poe’s really a glorified messenger boy, and hypothetically he’s around to keep her from killing anyone; her campaign doesn’t actually seem to need her all that much. Han, on the other hand, seems only to be around to irritate her. 

They first met when Leia was 18 at a premiere for one of his movie with her parents. He made snide comments about her hair and dress; she called his movie a “piece of story-telling more meandering and slow than a drunk snail with as much life and joy as a dead Mandalorian.” 

Needless to say, they did not get on very well after that (Despite the fact that Han publically admitting to agreeing with her in a later interview). They crossed paths in the years since; both being semi-famous people living in Northern California. This show will be the first time that they’ve interacted for more than five minutes in nine years. The post-premiere party the crew is hosting is large enough that she can swan around the room without looking like she’s actively avoiding him. Luke, of course, went up to him almost immediately and started chatting, something about Han’s upcoming movie about fighter pilots during the Vietnam War. Their mutual love of flying came out almost immediately, and they’ve been off ever since. Leia smiles as Luke talks with his usual hands waving attitude and exuberance. However, something he says seems to get Han’s hackles raised, so Leia swoops in with three drinks. 

“Han, pleasure to see you again,” Leia interrupts, handing out the drinks. 

“Princess,” Han nods towards her, “Good dance tonight.” 

“Why thank you. Please accept my congratulations as well. Your tango has improved since last I saw.” 

“You been looking?” Han smirked. 

“Know thy enemy, and all that.” 

“Actually, I’ve been looking as well,” Luke interjected, almost sheepishly, “I have to ask, was that actually you doing the ballet moves in ‘Corellian Spike’?” 

“Me doing pointe? God no. That’s all Chewie, my stunt double. He should be around here somewhere.” 

Leia can see the very tall man off talking to the very small woman Maz Kanata. 

“How they ever manage to pass a man who is a good foot taller than you as your stunt double is beyond.” 

“Movie magic, Princess. Movie magic.” 

The group stands in silence as they watch Chewie and Maz have an increasing animated conversation.

“I might need to go break that up. See you later, flyboy. Princess,” Han says before walking at an increased speed to his best friend. Leia feels a wave of tiredness crash into and she leans into Luke, who obligingly wraps his arm around her shoulder. 

“Hey,” he whispers, “You did good today.” 

“You too. Wanna get out of here? I am tired and hungry.” 

Luke laughs, bright and airy, “Sure thing.” 

“Let me find Poe, and we’ll go?” 

“Meet you outside.” Luke presses a kiss to her forehead and moves off. Leia scans the room to see Poe leaning up against a wall trying to look cool in front of one of the cameramen, Finn or something. BB-8 is laying at their feet. Finn laughs, and in that moment, she catches the look in Poe’s eyes. Leia smiles. She’ll send him a text. No need to interrupt. 

...

When she makes her way outside, Luke is waiting. It’s late enough the paparazzi have left. Luke is leaning up against the street lamps. 

“Um, so,” Luke looks sheepish, “I don’t have a car.” 

Leia shrugs, “Neither do I.” 

“I do have a motorcycle though if you’re comfortable. It’s in good condition, keep it up myself. I’ve got an extra helmet. Otherwise, I am happy to order an Uber or whatever.”

“Motorcycle sounds fun. I trust you, Luke.”

“Oh, good. Well, this way then.” Luke extends an elbow, and Leia links up with him. The moon shines bright through the L.A. smog. It’s comfortable to Leia, walking in the moonlight with this beautiful boy she’d only met a week earlier. But there’s something in his being, pure and good, that makes Leia feel like she’s known him forever.

His motorcycle is absolutely nothing like that. It’s a sleek red design, futuristic. It looks like it goes very, very fast.

“Holy shit.” Leia is unable to stop the profanity. Luke blushes as red as his bike. 

“It’s beautiful,” Leia says, running her hands over the red frame, “I feel like I’ve dreamed about this bike.” 

“It’s an EBR 1190RX. When I was younger, I thought I wanted to race motorcycles; I kept up with all the news about new bike, new specs, new additions. My first bike with a motor was the one I built from scraps, still have it in storage. When I got my first big paycheck, I bought this. It was my dream bike for a dream life. Ben thought I was an idiot and told me I should move into my own apartment first. But, I was nineteen and had the impulse control of a small mammal.” 

“When I was eighteen, a week before my nineteenth birthday, I accidentally drank absinthe with a friend, and I hallucinated my birth.”

“What?”

“I thought it was weird soda or juice. It was in the cupboard where the soda was, and the label was all dusty.”

“So, you drank it?”

“Eh, I was eighteen, and wanted to be brave.” 

“You are possibly the bravest person I’ve ever met, Leia. You are incredible. And I mean that in more than just your drinking choices.”

“Thank you, Luke. I -” For once, Leia is rendered speechless. She flings her arms around Luke, hugging him tight as if she could just press all her turbulent feelings into him, make him feel how she felt. Luke squeezes back. 

“Come on. I know where to get the best burgers and shakes at this time of night.”


End file.
